Three leading nuclear medicine organizations have agreed on a unified accreditation framework for PET/CT and PET/MR scanners to standardize quantitative PET imaging globally. The SNMMI Clinical Trials Network (SNMMI-CTN), the Australasian Radiopharmaceutical Trials Network (ARTnet), and the European Association of Nuclear Medicine Forschungs GmbH (EARL) jointly endorsed the initiative, formalized through a memorandum of understanding signed on October 6, 2025.
The organizations said this agreement aims to address current inconsistencies in PET system accreditation methods. Presently, clinical research organizations, sponsors, and professional networks use varying accreditation processes, phantoms, and acceptance criteria. These differences lead to duplicative testing, unclear responsibilities, higher costs, and inconsistent data.
The new framework introduces a contrast recovery coefficient (CRC)-based accreditation system that will replace the existing SUV recovery coefficient (SUV RC)-based methods. According to the announcement, this system is robust, scalable, adaptable to technological advancements, and suitable for worldwide application.
"Universal adoption of the proposed framework will provide significant advantages for all stakeholders," the organizations stated.
CRC-based metrics are already being used in data analysis and image quality reports at accredited institutions alongside traditional metrics. The full transition to CRC-based accreditation is scheduled for completion in January 2026.
"The unified PET system accreditation is a pivotal step toward truly global harmonization in quantitative PET imaging. Through this collaboration, SNMMI, ARTnet and EANM are laying the groundwork for a future where data from any accredited scanner, anywhere in the world, can be trusted and compared with confidence," according to the statement from the three organizations.
